


Beware The Witch

by NervousAliceCurious



Series: Opposite Loop [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Arms Run, Gen, Witches, world jumping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2020-05-16 15:08:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 9,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19320640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousAliceCurious/pseuds/NervousAliceCurious
Summary: After being separated from the rest of her family, a lone young woman becomes tasked with drawing out a disloyal witch.





	1. In The Dead Of Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Implied unpleasant fate.

…

 

I crumple the politely-written note in my fist, and throw it in the trash.

 

 

I don’t need it.

 

I don’t need to know it.

 

 

Daniel was an absolute angel to wait up for me like this, but…

 

 

“He had his friends come all the way here just to give me a snuff note”.

 

“…I guess he thought it was important or something”.

 

 

Our baby girl gurgles on his lap, contentedly trying to eat his fingers.

 

 

She’s got no clue.

 

 

I’d like to keep it that way.

 

 

“Well?”

 

“Well what?”

 

 

…

 

 

“How do you feel about this?”

 

“It’s not unexpected, unfortunately…”

 

 

“Yes?”

 

 

I raise an eyebrow.

 

 

“And?”

 

 

…

 

 

“And I don’t like it.

 

Who would?”

 

 

He sighs.

 

 

“They’ve grown used to it though…

 

That they just give their girls up without a fight”.

 

 

“And their women too, I presume?”

 

“You have no idea”.

 

 

“…

 

…How many will this monster eat before somebody finally does something about it!?”

 

“I keep getting the impression that nobody but us sees it that way”.

 

 

“Then let’s just leave”.

 

 

He starts in his seat.

 

The baby gives a surprised gasp.

 

 

“Leave?”

 

“Yes”.

 

 

It seems obvious to me…

 

 

“If we’re out-numbered and out-played, who says we have to stay?

 

They can do whatever the heck they want-“

 

“I’ve seen people leave before, and some of them became meat shells”.

 

 

“So we just won’t get caught”.

 

 

I start to move around the room, shoveling things into a plain, brown sack.

 

 

“We live right on the border after all…

 

It should be a piece of cake”.

 

 

“…You always were the optimist”.

 

 

A tired smile is on his face.

 

I wink.

 

 

“That’s why you love me”.


	2. Welcome To Insert-Name-Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So where did Lilith's portal originally spit this first wave of survivors out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Possible germs? Language. Betrayal.

During the night, there was an influx of Kerrie head memes.

 

Cinna was **_so_** surprised-

 

After a good nine months of radio silence, too-!!

 

-Then they disappeared.

 

...?

 

Am worried-

 

Nine months of no Mystic or Alice, either.

For them, the radio silence was still going on.

 

......Where did they go-but maybe they’re busy?

 

But-

 

_I…think I might be in trouble._

_Really big trouble._

..........Am worried-

 

*

 

**_Many hours before...._ **

****

With a whoosh, Alice was dropped into a dusty road.

 

Envy clanked out behind her, while Ivy neatly landed on her feet.

Lydia stumbled, and BJ coughed.

Andrea R. nearly tipped into a ditch, and Ro was steadied by a one-foot-flying Merlin!!

 

“Whoah-!!”

“Where are we!?”

 

One ruefully brushed the dirt from her skirt while the other looked around in confusion.

 

“Thank you Merlin-“

“No problem-o!”

 

“Alice, are you okay-!?”

“I’m good-“

 

She stood up.

 

“Where’s love!??”

Ivy was enraged.

“She said she was gonna give us a portal, not _abandon_ us-!!!”

 

BJ stopped hacking long enough to speak:

“Guess that’s what we get for trusting her-“

 

The portal disappeared.

 

“Oh crap”.

 

Lydia turned to see what Fate had conjured up for them this time-

 

“Does anyone recognize this place?”

 

Envy thought for a moment.

“……..No, not really”.

 

“Maybe there’s someplace up ahead where we can ask around!” Rosanna said brightly.

“-Almost being devoured by shadows wasn’t enough to dim your spirits, huh?”

“Nope!” she answered, not in the least bothered by Lydia’s question.

 

“We have to go back for everyone else too….” Alice fretted-

“First, can we get out of the dirty tornado?”

 

BJ’s eyes were becoming bleary.

 

“I think I’m gonna be ill of mineral poisoning”.

 

"Sure!" 

 

Merlin dabbed in triumph-

 

"Look there-"

"Now  _that_ is a weird place for an inn".

 

Lydia frowned.

 

"Not like we have anywhere else to go....."

 

Andrea R. started walking.

 

*

 

They made quite the weird picture coming in through the door....

 

"-Can I help you?"

 

The man at the front desk looked perplexed.

 

"We'd like rooms please", Ivy announced-

"And, um, where are we-?"

Envy peeked from over her shoulder-

His helmet clanged off the frame.

"Ow-"

 

"........That's gonna be $6 a night-"

"I'll pay it".

 

Ivy strode over, and thunked down a velvet pouch.

Golden coins spilled out.

 

-His eyes nearly popped out of his head!!

 

*

 

"-This is the town of _what_ ".

"Not what, _who"._

 

BJ was unimpressed.

 

"I've never heard of this 'Saint Augustinia'-or whomever-"

 

"-Is it a nice town?"

"Yeah".

 

He looked a little offended by that.

 

"At least I'd like to  _think_ so-"

 

The 'Knight' realized a bit late how that sounded.

 

".....Sorry-"

 

Envy's self-consciousness was leaking over-

 

".......Do you have any.....cl......clothes...."

"Lost and Found...?."

 

".............."

 

(He shyly excused himself).

 

".........Remind me why he's wearing a Suit of Armor again-?"

"Nofin'".

Ivy sighed.

"Yeh ever 'eard of a red-'aired lady in a maid's dress aroun' 'ere?"

"No".

"F*", Andrea swore under her breath-

 

".....Do you want your room keys now?"

 

*

 

-You had no idea how ready he was to dump the metal.

 

Where's the Lost and Found-?

 

(He tripped over the box-)

 

Oh.

 

 

Someone had left behind a gray sweater, among other things-

Busted red sneakers,

A plastic child's tiara,

A half-eaten sandwich-

 

-He took the sweater.

And the stretchy pants.

And then got shy about asking where the bathroom was-

 

(Why are there so many eyes-!?)

 

"Thataway", the guy pointed.

"Th..........ank you".

 

*

 

He shut and locked the door, pried off all the plating (which took  _for **ever**_ -), and  _then_ got changed.

-Then he didn't know what to  _do_ with said armor-

 

Maybe I'll put it in the Lost and Found?

 

He winced.

 

Maybe.....

 

...

 

The Plant Man rested his arms on the lip of the sink.

 

I can finally tell her.

.........I have to tell her-

 

You can do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday.


	3. Words Not Yet Spoken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He finally did it-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Alcohol, getting drunk.

Alice slid the key in the lock, and jumped at the audible **_click-_**

 

“Tone it down Bugs Bunny”, Andrea R. playfully teased.

 

-She blushed a little....

 

Envy smiled.

 

........The Writer peeked her head inside, and was awed at how big-!!

 

“-Is that a water bed?”

“No idea”.

 

He ran a finger over his own key nervously.....

 

“Um...Alice?”

“Yeah?”

“..........”

 

He seemed at a loss for words.

 

“What’s up?”

 

Pulling down his sleeves more, the Plant Man shifted on his feet.

 

“U........um..........”

“.........................?”

“I.....”

 

He was struggling to say-

 

“..........Back then-“

“Huh?”

“C......can I............?”

 

She waited patiently...

 

“T-talk t-to you......about............s-something-“

“-Is this that thing you wanted to tell me later?”

 

....He stuttered to a halt.

 

“Envy....”

“Y.....yes-“

“.......You want to come in where it’s private?”

 

......He..........nodded........................

 

 

She closed the door softly-

Then sat down on the floor.

 

“Okay!”

 

She looked up at him, eyes bright-

 

“I’m ready”.

 

He sat down beside her.....

His cheeks had glowed with a dusting of green.

 

“........O..............kay.........”

 

He swallowed hard.

Tugging on the hems of his sleeves a second time-

 

“I......I.......I.....l....ove....you.......”

“-!”

 

His face burned greener.

 

“I.....I’ve......l-loved y-you f-for a....a....w-while-“

 

He peeked out at her from behind his hair-

Thoroughly emerald.

 

“........”

 

Alice smiled.

 

“Aww........I love you too”.

 

-!!

 

His face burned even _greener_.

She leaned over and gave him a hug-

 

Does she remember Kerrie taunting me about it-!??

 

He _hoped_ not-

 

“You are so cute-“

 

-All thoughts immediately dissolved from his head.

 

“Hehe~”

 

He instinctively sank into the neck of the sweater.

 

“Y-you’re c-cute.....too......!”

 

It came out muffled, though-

 

“Thank you....”

 

Alice snuggled into his arm, and he found himself smiling-

More than just the tiny one.

 

“I love you.....”

 

-He yawned.

 

“Oh-“

 

He caught himself, hand going to his mouth-

 

“Are you tired?”

 

He sighed.

 

“I guess I am.....”

 

But....

 

“...........I’m scared-“

“Don’t worry-“

 

Blue eyes.

 

“I’ll tell all the nightmares to go home”.

 

He blushed-

 

“Th-thank you”.

“You’re gonna be okay”.

 

 

He closed his eyes  .   .   .

 

Then Alice yawned.

 

-Whoops.

 

......Well...if she did follow him into Dreamland, at least they’d both be comfortable.

 

*

 

Knock-knock-

 

Alice's eyelids fluttered.

 

.......?

 

She went to the door:

 

“Hi...”

“Hello. Is the Plant Man in-“

 

-

 

After that was over, she crawled back into his side.

 

*

 

Sometime later, (MUCH later), the Party Bus appeared:

 

Nikita, Manny, and Bretman.

Lele, Gabbie, and Tana-

Liza-

And Jesse.

 

“Excuse us-“

“Sorry...”

“Time to go-“

“Let’s get drunk-!!”

“It’s gonna be lit-“

“Shots shots shots-“

“Wild Explorer comin’ through-!!”

“Who’s paying the bill-“

 

“Who knows”, Tana said.

“Who cares?”

Lele threw her hands above her head-

He chuckled.

 

We’re going to be in _so_ much trouble tomorrow-

 

. . .. . . ...

 

The resulting racket ex. Clatter they created as they **_careened_** down the stairwell was what managed to effectively jar the _both_ of them awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3


	4. Say Goodbye

Still pitch-black despite the moon-

 

Took us ten minutes more to throw everything together.

Then I unlock the back door, and let him out first.

 

‘Thank you’, he mouths-

I nod.

 

I can barely even tell that he’s out there.

Waiting for me-

 

The baby fusses in his arms.

 

“Shh....” Daniel soothes-

 

I gently re-lock, and close it.

Pocket the key-

 

..........It’s going to be the end of a good three years.

....Such a shame this happy world went down the drain.

 

...

 

We look up at the barely-seeable shadow.

 

He feels for my hand, and I take it.

He squeezes-

 

But we can’t spend anymore time here.

 

 

It really is a lucky thing.

That we live so close to the tree line-

 

I move just a few footfalls ahead, pushing aside ferny branches, long-hanging tangles that might catch one or the other on the way through-

I feel one scratch me on the forehead.

 

Audibly.

 

‘Are you okay!?’ he whispers-

‘I’m good’.

 

I flash him a smile over my shoulder.

 

‘Didn’t even leave a dent’.

 

Although it _might_ have left a scratch, but that’s fine.

That’ll heal.

 

.....I’ll have to wait until we have more light to check.

 

Either way, it could’ve always been worse-

 

......No sound from the wild animals.

Now that’s a little weird.

 

Because I _know_ those birds don’t sleep at night--

 

‘Be careful-‘

 

I aim behind me-

 

‘I think something’s spooked off the-‘

 

Wait.

 

‘.............Daniel?’

 

I turn.

 

...

 

I don’t see him or the baby.


	5. Midnight Drinking Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Wild Ones are up. Some want answers rather than a Good Time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Alcohol, making out. Threats. Past death.

“Mm....”

 

Alice rubbed her eyes tiredly...

 

“........?”

 

Envy blinked.

 

“What-“

“Somebody-“

 

She gripped the edge of the bed, and pulled herself up.

 

“-What time is it?” he asked.

“I’ll check....”

 

Scrunching her lids shut.

Then open.

 

Sparks-

 

“Um-“

 

She looked for a clock.

 

“Like....”

 

There was a digital one tucked on top of the dresser.

 

“12 AM?”

“-Who in their right mind would be making the walls ring at midnight-!?”

 

He unfolded his legs from their cramped position, and staggered upright.

 

“I don’t know.....”

 

She rubbed her head next.

 

“......Am I still dreaming?”

“No”.

 

He lightly touched her shoulder.

 

“This is very much reality”.

 

*

 

If this was very much reality, then how long until it killed him?

 

 

It was a casual question.

Matter-of-fact.

 

(He stayed in the back of the inn, watching Lele down another drink in a contest against Jesse while Tana, Nikita, and Manny got intense-to-sweet-chatter make-out sessions in the corner. Gabbie was in the middle of a not-that-funny comedy routine, Liza had disappeared off somewhere, and BJ was snoozing black-out in the corner).

 

He, himself had poured a cup, taken one sniff, and realized the entire keg was miraculously ‘out-of-date’.

 

....

 

So really.

 

How long until this place killed him.

 

-Someone pulled up a stool.

 

“.....Aren’t you missing two-thirds of yourself?”

“Very funny”.

 

Bretman eyed the still-full shot-

 

“You gonna drink that?”

“No, it’s expired”.

 

-He read between the lines, and blanched, and then looked to his ‘party friends’-

 

“Oh s*”.

“If they’re not dead in the morning you can blame it on the hour”.

 

The boy pulled himself back together.

 

“’Kay, and they _better_ not be-“

“Only a 1/100% chance”.

 

“....Not helping”.

 

He raised a brow.

 

“I’m not going to sugarcoat”.

“No duh”.

 

The other party screwed up his face at a wine ring.

 

“Who are you?”

 

“-“

 

-He didn’t know what _else_ he was expecting......

 

“You came over here to ask me who I am?”

“Uh...yeah”.

 

Bretman’s perfectly-manicured eyebrows raised.

 

“I told you, you’re sus as f*”.

“You shouldn’t be judging books by their cover”.

“If you say so, sis-“

“Buuuut you do not believe me”.

“No s*”.

 

Their glares held a stand-off, of sorts-

 

“-I find it a bit odd that only you would approach me about this”.

“Oh b*, believe me-“

 

He nodded to his lipstick-smacking friends.

 

“I won’t be the _only_ one come tomorrow morning”.

 

.........

 

Cold eyes bored into his.

 

 “Yes, well, I’m not one to throw around my trust so easily”.

“Neither am I”, he countered, “Which is why I’m here instead of getting down and lit”.

 

“......”

 

-He had a lot to lose if someone found out _too_ much-

 

“You’ll be making a big mistake to ask”.

“Honey, I’ve made a _ton_ of big mistakes”.

 

He spread hands along the yellow jacket-

 

“How do you think I got _in_ on all of this to start?”

“You?”

“Yeah-and I ended it with getting _Ro_ fed to some dinos”.

“......”

“Don’t be judgin’ _me_ either”.

 

.........sigh.

 

 

“.......Listen _very_ clear-“

 

The cup of bad wine harshly pushed into the boy’s chest-

 

“The only thing you’re getting from me is a letter:

M”.

 

“’Kay-“

 

“And I come from somewhere else called a Trainwreck and I don’t intend to let _this_ timeline follow the same path.

 

Try to stop me, and I _will_ show you no mercy”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo, boy.


	6. Sour Grapes, Act 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All parties must end eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Passed-out drunk. Body horror. Anxiety/intuition.

Bretman keenly felt the edge.

Sharp.

Red flecks within the green of the man across from him, directly next to him, which was an even more dangerous place to be-

 

M, huh?

 

The look in his eyes was dead serious.

 

Emphasis on the ‘dead’ part-

 

“....Yeah, okay.

I got it”.

 

He pushed the cup aside-

But only because the guy with the Ultimatum _let_ him and they both knew it.

 

“....If there’s no good wine, I’m goin’ to bed”.

“There isn’t”.

 

*

 

Alison couldn’t sleep.

 

Chalk it up to a past of hunting with the Vampires in simpler times, but this night-

 

“......Something on your mind?”

 

Calliope wondered sleepily-

 

“I am afraid so”.

 

The Princess stalked ten paces toward the door.

Then paused.

 

Then turned and stalked back-

 

“I....cannot shake this......”

“This feeling?”

 

The former SAE agent had sat up from the sheets.

 

“Yes”.

 

-She ran a hand through her immaculate updo.

 

“It’s like.....something is happening right there in front of my face, and I _cannot grasp it-_ “

“I’ve felt that before”.

 

Calliope swung her legs over the side.

 

“When I was in Everlock for years and years-“

“Did anything ever come of it?”

“Season 3 came of it”.

 

“---!”

 

Alison halted in her tracks.

 

“.......That...can’t be happening here-“

“I don’t see how it could....”

 

Calliope seemed doubtful.

 

“Unless the Cursed God, that clown, and/or that Collector have managed to find us....”

“This quickly?”

“Never underestimate the forces of Darkness”.

 

Her upper lip had stiffened.

 

Alison was praying against hope she was wrong-

Even if it stung her to think of it.

 

“I’m going out there”.

 

-And she swung open the door.

 

“Alison-!”

 

Calliope lunged to standing, and reached for her-

 

“You shouldn’t go on your own”.

 

*

 

4 in the morning.

 

A few hours before sunrise.

 

By now, the bar was an emptier place than it had started.

 

-By which, it was still as full as usual, only most Partygoers, including the Party Bus themselves, had dropped off to sleep.

 

Not realizing at all that their skin had begun to take on a purplish hue....

 

Except for one:

 

M. stared at the strange scene before him-

 

Bodies draped over each other, Nikita, Tana, and Manny locked mid-flirt-

Gabbie passed out onstage.

 

(Liza was still missing).

 

Lele and Jesse leaning off of the now-empty keg-

 

And Bretman, of course, had already left, not counting the dozens of other patrons flopped flat against their tables.

 

The bar tender had taken a nose-dive to the floor-

 

BJ had magically morphed into an eggplant wearing stripes.

 

 

......I knew the wine was bad, but  _this_ bad?

 

 

-Foot steps thudded down the stairs...

 

Alison and Calliope ran in.

 

"What is this-"

"Poor children-!!"

 

"....I don't know".

 

*

 

The vampire practically rapped down the innkeeper's door behind the counter.

....He didn't answer.

 

She bared her teeth-

 

"Let me".

 

Calliope lightly shouldered past her and-

 

Knock-

 

Knock-

 

Knock-

 

Knock.

 

...................................................................................................................................................................................................................

 

-She gave it one last hard whack, and it flew _wide._

 

-Alison stormed inside.

Aggressively flicked on the light-

 

"Wake up".

 

-He moaned, and squirmed beneath his plaid covers....

 

_"Wake up!!"_

 

She ripped them clear, and he let out a startled yelp-!

Curling in on himself like a sad turtle in blue, long pajamas.

 

"Wake up, wake up, this is an **_emergency-!!"_**

 

She yoinked him up by the collar, his tired eyes blinking-

 

 

"Tell us what happened out there! NOW-"


	7. Sour Grapes, Act 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So how do we fix this exactly?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Alcohol, passing out. Church.

“What-wh-what-“

 

The man gaped at her, opening and closing his mouth like a fish-

 

“Everyone downstairs is in some kind of alcoholic coma-“

“Again?”

 

He sighed long-sufferingly.

 

“Why does this always happen on a Monday-“

“It’s NOT normal”, Alison seethed.

 

“They’ve all been evidently poisoned”.

 

M.’s voice was clearly guarded.

 

“If the purple coloring doesn’t blatantly give it away-“

“Purple WHAT”.

 

Alison snarled, and dragged the poor man out the door.

 

*

 

“Oh my God”.

 

His mouth practically unhinged from his jaw and hit the floor.

 

“.....I actually know what this is”.

“You do?”

 

Calliope’s brows were creased with worry-

 

“-Sometimes we get a batch that goes bad. So we always check it and make _sure_ that it’s still good before the Drinking Midnight Hour-“

 

“And?” Alison fumed-

 

“Well....this town isn’t named Saint Augustinia for no reason....”

 

He tried to smile, but ended up cringing instead.

 

“Meaning?”

 

M. already had an idea-

 

“-There’s this weirdo lady who lived like....waaaay too close to the beach? Well for some reason, whenever she blesses the wine, it turns out fine. Every time. Seen it all my life-“

 

“How is she still alive?” Alison wondered-

 

“Nobody knows”.

 

He shook his head.

 

“But I know that today....I spent it pretty much comatose....”

“So what happened-“

 

Calliope was digesting this-

 

“So when I finally woke up on the floor, it was like, two, and I thought I was dreaming-“

 

“So you went to sleep”.

 

“I _tried_ to”, he told M., until you came pounding in the door, Ma’am-“

“I am sorry, but it was necessary”.

 

“But what are they afflicted with exactly?”

 

“-We may need to pump their stomachs?”

 

-The clerk stared at him like he’d just suggested eating veal.

 

“No-“

“Then what?”

 

A severe case of alcohol poisoning such as that-

 

“My father, and his father before him, and his mother before him always said:”

 

_He cleared his throat-_

_“Now Neville, don’t you dare forget in the face of a_ **dire** _state of affairs,_

_The Church shall always save you._

_-As long as you continue your duties, though, you should be aware enough **not** to make those kinds of _ **dire** _mistakes-“_

.......

 

They waited for him to continue.

 

“-Oh, that was the end? Were you waiting for more? I am _so_ sorry-“

 

 

M. could’ve face-palmed, but thought better of it.

 

"Where is the Church?" Calliope asked-

"And how long must they remain there?"

 

Alison's eye-teeth were showing.

 

".......To be honest, I have no flippin' idea, it depends on what and how your alcohol tolerance is".

 

The man shrugged.

 

"And for the Church......"

 

He pointed-

 

_To the way they'd come._

_To the **end** of the end of the way they'd come._

 

Alison stared at him.

Until it was abundantly clear that he  _wasn't_ joking.

 

".....Do we have a way to get them there?"

 

Calliope inquired-

 

"Well....."

 

He winced.

 

"With the ambulance driver  _also_ out-cold....I mean......we don't have a bus, so-"

 

M. scoffed.

 

"Then we're carrying them all one at a time".

"Oh geez, don't break your  _back-"_

 

The man looked disgusted.

 

"Do yourself a favor, and just bring in a Cross".

 

He gestured to above the bar, where the wall was empty.

 

"We'll nail it up there, and then we should be good-"

"Do we have a time limit for this?"

 

The princess sounded mildly irritated.

 

"No".

"Good".

 

".....We had better check their pulses first-"

 

Calliope gulped.

 

*

 

-So out of all of them, the only one who was even remotely close to death was a White Parakeet in the corner someone had stupidly fed ten shots.

 

".....Does anyone know if Liza had any alcohol?"

"-Liza was here?"

 

Alison looked alarmed.

 

"She isn't among the sick....in  _this_ area-"

 

Calliope pursed her lips together.

 

"......We should look for her immediately".

 

M. couldn't believe how absurd this was.

 

How do you even find the Explorer who's gone before you know it?

 

(-Well they'd figure something out...)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If my Writing looks strange, then it probably is.


	8. Sour Grapes, Act 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why yes, they DID run off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Alcohol, poisoning. Blood. Implied past trauma. The Ring.

-To make a bad situation worse, there was the distinct sound of a door opening in the back.

 

Rosanna, Mat, and Safiya.

 

The first one gasped, the second one let out a noise of surprise, and the third-just blinked.

 

“What happened-“

“Long story”, the innkeeper sighed.

 

“Children? Is there something wrong?” Calliope could read their body language instantly, and it wasn’t all because of the poisonous purple tableaux.

“Oh...well-“

 

Ro looked to Mat, and Safiya folded her arms.

He rubbed his forehead.

 

“Lydia, Ivy, and Andrea R. ran off to find Mystic on their own”.

 

.....They waited for the backlash-

 

“I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner”, was M.’s only comment.

 

Alison pressed her lips together-

 

“That’s not a smart move.........” Calliope mused-

 

“I don’t think they’ve gotten far?” Ro offered?

She shifted guiltily.

 

“We will be sure to go after them as soon as we....navigate THIS unfortunateness-“ Alison promised.

“What did they drink?” MatPat deduced-

 

“Alcohol-“

 

Calliope looked back at the comatose Partyers.

 

“ _Bad_ alcohol”, the innkeeper corrected, “Ours acts much different from the usual stuff, it’s what our town is famous for”.

“Is there a cure?” Safiya asked.

“Time and making this place Holy”.

 

He pointed to the door they’d just come through.

 

“I’m planning on sealing up the front until their condition improves, we just need the Cross from the Church waaaaay back from where you all came from if your expressions right now are anything to go by-“

 

“We can do it-“ Ro offered.

“Our crew didn’t do a lot”, Safiya added.

 

“You’re still probably going to find some purple blotches”.

 

“Good to know”, MatPat said borderline sarcastically.

 

“-Have you seen Liza anywhere?”

“Or Bretman”, Alison quickly tacked on, “He never goes anywhere without Nikita or Manny-“

“Bretman’s upstairs”, M. said.

 

Last I knew.....

 

The threesome looked at each other.

 

“No, we haven’t seen her...or him-“

 

“Great....” Alison frowned.

“Knowing her, she could be anywhere-“

 

“You’d better find her tonight”.

 

MatPat ahemed-

 

“Because I heard at least ten different Travel Plans for tomorrow from everyone else after the Hard Eight and their Herd of Elephants stampeded through the hallways-“

 

M. rolled his eyes.

 

Surprised _that_ didn’t happen sooner as well.

 

Alison looked like she was about to have the Mother of all Migraines.

 

“This is serious....!”

“-Yeah, but didn’t we see you checking around earlier?” Ro pointed out-

“To be certain it was safe”, Calliope clarified.

“Then we turned in....”

“Until now”.

_"-Please_ go out the back if you're gonna look for anyone-!" the innkeeper begged-

 

"You look for Liza, we will find our trio of Dodgers".

 

-The vampire didn't even give him a chance to reply.

 

"Alison, wait-!"

 

And now Calliope was gone.

 

*

 

I could’ve just sent them straight to where they wanted to go, M. reflected with no small amount of irony.

 

If I’d known-

 

...........There wasn’t a lot to be done about it now-

Unless Alison and Calliope managed to drag them back through the door anytime soon.

 

Already stuck here for another full _day_ as is.

 

The minute everyone who decided to 'go on a Tour' is back here, I'm sending them all home.

No exceptions.

 

..............He felt as if he was dealing with a bunch of children, on second look-

 

I've seen children who have done smarter.

 

....

 

As for the Liza issue.

 

I need to test this out sooner or later-

 

He pointed the staff at a wall in the silent space (now), and concentrated.

 

Energy crackled.

 

It blew at the wall with enough force to knock him off his feet-!

 

The wall warped into a portal.

 

He could hear....whirring?

 

Is that-

 

...?

 

What was Liza doing in the Laundry Room?

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

He picked himself up.

 

His other arm making him **panic, but-**

 

If....she isn't in there, then where is she?!

 

 

He was about to step through when something _**grabbed** _that other arm.

 

"-!??"

 

A white clown hand.

With sharp nails.

 

"Not  _you-!"_

 

_Surprise.....!!_

 

Like some  _Ring_ rip-off, she was trying to desperately haul herself from the Borderline-

Her fingers squeezed into the links, making flickers of a memory distracting-

 

She yelped as she suddenly dropped to the ground, partly-

 

"OW, my manicure-!!"

 

Blood spattered.

She pulled on the now-dangling chain-

 

His  _ **arm-!!**_

 

He thumped her on the head with the Staff.

-She popped up again within five seconds, laughing _maniacally._

 

"You'll have to try  _ **harder**_ Pretty Boy-!"

 

......If you insist.

 

He opened another portal right in her face.

 

"-! Whoopsie, going  _down-"_

 

She disappeared, and he promptly closed it.

The snap traveled up the chain, and numbed his shoulder-

 

-...

 

He gritted his teeth, and stepped through into the Laundry Room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday!


	9. The Sun Comes Up, The Sun Goes Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where's Liza? Meanwhile, dinner at the Sea House-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Stalker worries. Alcohol poisoning, maybe death. Clowns.

........Was that a foot?

 

M. peered around the corner.

 

-Was that really a foot?

 

He leaned a little bit more.

 

. . .

 

Yes.

It was.

 

. . .

 

Liza was out-cold.

Curled into the side of a washing machine.

 

Although not so purpled as everyone _else_ who’d sampled the bad alcohol too far, she still seemed rather.....

 

Out of it.

To say the _least._

 

......Is she still breathing.

 

There was a distinct lack of rise in her chest-

That being said.

 

He felt for her pulse...it was definitely still going.

However.

 

If she ran in here like the blue hedgehog after a while of running around like the blue hedgehog throughout the _rest_ of the building, that would explain a _lot._

 

*

 

He laid her out on the table.

There wasn’t any other space for her....

 

The first rays of sun were starting to break through the windows.

 

He sighed.

 

Soon enough those who hadn’t played hooky in the middle of the night nor drank themselves to _this_ , would be up.

 

And doing everything _but_ what they’d come here for.

 

And even though it couldn’t be helped....

 

(He couldn’t help feeling a little frustrated).

 

*

 

.......

 

"It's really weird....you set this up for me”.

 

(In contrast to the wild scramble the others were going through, Lilith’s house was a quiet, tranquil-)

 

"While you were asleep”.

"Wha...what about the Cursed God? Or the Collector?"

 

Even though she’d been able to get everyone safely away-

So she’d _said-_

 

"Shhhh, it'll be alright, darling....”

 

-Before the panic could throttle any further, the Hypnotist wrapped her arms calmingly around her new Guest.

 

"I've made sure they'll never find us. Only your friends will be able to find us”.

 

She was rubbing her back.....

 

But Mystic gulped.

 

"I....I'm sorry if I'm finding that a tiny bit difficult to believe”.

"It's alright, I understand. Would you like to be shown around later?"

 

She pulled away, and the Writer nodded-

 

"I'll go set up for supper”.

 

No-

 

"Please...I don't want to be left alone”.

 

...

 

Meeting Lilith’s eyes, she was afraid-

She needed her here.

 

Don’t leave me.

 

........She smiled.

 

"Would you like to lie on the couch in the living room? It has an open connection to the kitchen”.

 

Another nod.

 

Taking Mystic’s hand in her own, they went downstairs.

 

.

 

 

.

 

 

.

 

While she relaxed, Lilith cooked.

 

...

 

Then she brought over a plate of chicken soup, and some greens on the side.

 

-Which  _also_ tasted amazing.

 

"Thank you...."

"You are welcome, dear".

 

The woman sat at the small table with a plate of her own.

 

"....How long have you lived here?"

"In this house?"

 

She thought.

 

"Hmm....I would say....perhaps....."

 

Her red eyes seemed to be seeing a different time.

Different place-

 

"When I was in my.....twenties?

-Well, twenty-thousands", she corrected-

"I must have scraped and saved for it years before-"

 

"Even while.....?"

 

"While I was working for  _him?"_

 

Mystic gave a shy nod-

 

"Yes....I had to hide it from Kerrie so she wouldn't use it on one of her..."

 

A shudder.

 

_"Brands"._

"What kind of brands?"

".....Everything".

 

She sighed in exasperation as she remembered-

 

"From rubber noses to...unmentionables. And canned foods. And diving supplies-"

"Wow".

"Yes. It was a......n experience watching her add occupations.

And odd paraphernalia to the castle-"

"Yeah, that sounds like Kerrie-"

 

Lilith coughed.

 

"-At any rate, I've lived here ever since".

"It's a nice house".

"Thank you".

 

A slight proud blush colored her cheeks-

 

"After.....if you're in the mood, we could do the Tour-"

"Okay".

 

Mystic took another sip of her soup.

 

"-I swear you were a Professional Chef once".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't wait for Summer!


	10. In The Blink Of An Eye

He was right on my heels.

How could he have disappeared?

I would’ve heard-

 

‘Daniel?’

 

I push aside some branches in the opposite direction.

 

‘Daniel, where did you-‘

 

Black woods as far as my eyes can see.

 

‘Are you okay-‘

 

 

I go back.

I’m not going to leave without them-

 

What if they’d gotten stuck in a shallow patch?

 

Or.

Heaven forbid, picked off by someone who’d found out our plan-

 

But I’d literally decided it on the spot...

 

 

‘Daniel!’

 

I’m trying to be as quiet as I can-

 

I’m getting more and more scared.

 

‘Daniel, where are you-?’

 

Where _are_ they-!?

 

‘If you can hear me, please say something?’

 

Anything at all would _really_ help me out right now.

 

. . .

 

 

I burst out where I _think_ we came in-

 

-What?

 

There’s....there’s nothing....there....?

 

That-can’t be right-!

 

I don’t understand.........

 

What happened?

How-

 

‘Daniel-!!’

 

No response.

 

. . .

 

No, this isn’t good-!

 

How could they just have _vanished_ like this-!??

 

 

-My first instinct is to get higher.

See if I can’t spot them-

 

Even if it’s useless.

 

My fingers dig into the rough bark of a tree, scraping my nails.

I know at least one’s gone-

 

I try to make the least amount of noise as possible (as my heels chip off chunks of flaking wood to the ground)-

 

The branch I clamber onto doesn’t break.

Thank goodness...!

 

I don’t want to panic.

 

I just want to know where they could’ve-

 

 

They have to be out there somewhere.....!


	11. Night And Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Expeditions then, and discoveries now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Dust allergies. Alcohol poisoning. Coma-like state. Threat of phys. violence. Invisibility, of a sort.

They’d been having a campfire night out back.

 

Or so Mat had said-

 

Alison opened the back door, and let Calliope through.

 

“I can smell the embers”.

“Me too”.

 

-Due to her heightened sense of smell, it was like inhaling ash.

 

“This was cleared recently”.

 

Despite that-

 

“They have a head start of at least ten minutes-“

“We can catch up”, Calliope hoped.

“Yes”.

 

Alison felt the ground behind the abandoned chairs.

 

“They’ve left their tread in the grass-“

“That’s good...”

 

She stood up.

 

“Let’s go”.

 

*

Meanwhile, Mat, Ro, and Safiya were embarking on the long, _long_ way to Church-

 

“You know....I never thought I’d be doing anything but sleeping at 4 in the morning”.

“Me neither”, she said.

 

“.....It’s pretty peaceful, though-“ Saf observed-

“Don’t jinx it”, he reminded-

“Right”.

 

Ro rushed over to a wooden fence post, and knocked.

 

“-Didn’t get any splinters!” she quickly reassured them.

 

-But she had to take a moment to observe her Knocking fist, first in the nearby light of a lamp post.

 

“Phew”, he breathed...

 

“So much dust-“

 

Ro waved it away from her face, coughing slightly.

 

“What we need is a giant vacuum cleaner to eat it all up”.

 

Safiya kicked up a cloud-

 

“That would be amazing”, he agreed.

 

 

And so, they continued onward.

 

*

 

At 8 in the morning, people started to come downstairs.

To the horrendous sight-

 

Sierra gasped-

Bretman ran to his friends.

 

“No-!”

 

“Oh my God, what happened here!?” Eva was horrified-

“I don’t know...” Justine gulped.

“We need to get a doctor-“ Andrea B. cut in-

“....Can a doctor fix this?” GloZell wasn’t so sure.

“Hey! You in the corner”.

 

Colleen gestured to M., half-zoned-out.

 

“-?”

 

“Who are you talking to?” Alex asked.

 

“Me”.

 

He waved.

 

“....”

 

Alex squinted.

 

“She’s talkin’ to ghosts”, DeStorm dismissed-

 

“I am not a ghost”.

 

“-I definitely heard that one”, Tim said.

“Great, we’re haunted”, Shane cheerfully declared-

 

(M. was greatly tempted to throw the bad bottle at his head).

 

-He would’ve done it, too, if Matt H. hadn’t suddenly exclaimed:

 

“-Why does this look like something out of the apocalypse?”

 

 

 

“They did what?” Sierra nervously giggled-

“Poisoned themselves into a coma”.

 

“What!?” Lauren was aghast-

“You heard me-“

 

“How do we wake them up!?” Oli panicked-

_“You_ don’t”.

 

“MRS went to do something about it-“

 

“Have they come back yet?” Eva wanted to know.

“If they did, I haven’t heard them-“

 

"This is disturbing".

 

Colleen's face had grown ashen.

 

"I mean...."

 

"Makes you want to have Happy Hour  _every_ night", Tim cracked-

"B*, those are my  _friends!!"_ Bretman exclaimed angrily.

"This is _awful..."_ Lauren grimaced.

"I guess we're not going to see the fishes today..." Alex winced softly-

 

M. gave him a sideways glance.

 

"...What?"

 

"-You have odd priorities".

 

 

-So if  _that_ was all canceled...

 

Well.

 

"Don't get any ideas, buster", Colleen glared-

 

 

"Poor Liza...."

 

Alex moved her out of the way of Tim and Shane silently playing 'Steal-That-Wallet'.

 

"Yeah".

 

DeStorm sounded slightly emotional.

 

"I can't believe this happened...."

 

Lauren shakily poked the collar of Tana's outfit.

 

"Who  _can!?"_

 

Colleen stared incredulously at the felled Beauty Gurus.

 

"Maybe they'll wake up soon", Sierra hoped.

 

 

(I  _am_ sorely tempted to just teleport them all where they belong and be done with it).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Wednesday!!!


	12. The Church Investigation Of MRS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beloved trio has an adventure-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: It's a Church, and there is destruction. Alcohol poisoning, discussed.

“Looks like this is the place”.

 

Safiya pried open the old, peeling doors.

 

“It’s so big!” Ro said in awe.

“Late fifteenth century-“ Mat diagnosed.

“I like all the moons”.

 

The Socialite pointed.

 

Between each paneled arch, a crescent one perched.

 

“Considering the nightlife of this place, I’m not surprised”.

 

 

“Okay, so we should keep our eyes peeled-“

 

Safiya got down to business.

 

“Yeah”.

 

Ro nodded, her hat flopping as she did so.

 

“If we see any crosses, or anything weird, we’ll let each other know?

With this signal-“

 

MatPat put two fingers to his lips, and did a low whistle.

 

“Okay”.

 

Ro nodded again.

 

“Okay-“

 

“Got it”, Safiya told him succinctly.

 

“Good luck everyone.....” Rosanna murmured, as the trio broke.

“You too...” Mat whispered over his shoulder...

“Same”.

 

Saf headed toward the wooden altar.

 

 

It was unearthly quiet.

 

 

MatPat lifted up his sunglasses to peer at the faded frescoes-

Ro shuffled through some old prayer books stacked in the corner.

Safiya thoroughly inspected the pulpit and the nave-

 

“Ooh-“

 

“Ro, did you find something?”

 

The woman coughed.

 

“This book spit dust at me-!!!”

“Oof”.

 

Safiya winced in sympathy as frantic hands padded off her dress.

 

“Anything _in_ that dust?” Mat wanted to know-

“Nothing-“

 

She searched the pockets of her poofy, white coat for a tissue.

 

“I can still taste it-!”

“The traces of aeons now rest within you”, Mat joked.

“I’m a part of this Church now, guys”.

“We can just bring you to cure the alcohol disaster-“

Safiya walked to the Confessional.

“Ooh, yeah!”

“I can’t believe we didn’t think of that from the start-“ Mat carried on-

 

She creaked open the door, and Ro JUMPED six feet-

 

“Whoah!” Mat exclaimed.

“That was so loud-!!”

She stumbled forward a few steps, breezy laughter escaping from her throat-

 

“Think he needs some oil”, Safiya commented.

 

 

It was empty.

Not surprising-

 

“Hello...in there-“

 

Ro pitched over her shoulder.

 

“No one here but us detectives”, said Mat-

 

...........Ro sobered up.

 

“What’s wrong?” the other woman asked-

“.....I was just thinking.....”

 

She hesitated.

 

“........Is it wrong to have fun when our friends are sick?”

“I don’t think it’s wrong if we’re not slacking off”, Mat answered.

“............I guess I’m just worried”.

 

Safiya nodded.

 

“We all are”.

 

 

“Ooh...!”

 

They’d been hidden by the doors going in.

A set of four angel statues between columns, two on one side, and two on the other.

 

In the hand of one was clasped-

 

“The Cross!”

 

Ro pointed excitedly!!

 

“Wow”, Safiya remarked.

“Right under our noses the whole time-“ Mat realized.

 

“Maybe we could persuade them to-

Let us have it”.

 

Ro pantomimed peaceful negotiation-

 

“I’ve never spoken to angels before”.

“Neither have I”.

 

They followed on her heels.

 

 

"These remind me of mannequins", he commented.

Their eyes were pretty dead-

"If they move, run-"

Saf was already scanning for weapons.

"They're awfully pretty", Ro thought....

 

She reached out for the fingers curled over the Holy object-

 

"Excuse me", she told the statue, politely.

"May we borrow this, please?"

 

The rock crumbled under her touch.

 

"Ooh-"

"Oh dear".

"Their skin is flaking-!"

 

She gently re-positioned her finger-pads, and lightly grasped the tip.

 

"I'm so sorry-"

 

She tried to hold the hand together with her free limb.

 

Pull-

 

_Kkkrrmble..._

 

"Aahhh, oh no-"

"Oh no-" Mat parroted-

"....That is an oops", Safiya responded.

 

There was now an empty arm hole.

 

"That is  _definitely_ an oops".

"Oh noooo-"

 

Ro groaned.

 

"I didn't mean to..."

 

She looked remorsefully at the gold-gilded Cross.

 

"I'm sorry-"

"It was only an accident", Mat reassured-

 

"Anyway, we have what we came for", Safiya concluded.

"I feel awful-"

"You didn't know".

"No, but I saw it-"

She sighed.

"Nothing we can do about it now".

Mat scrubbed his glasses of the Church's must.

"Yeah".

 

Ro turned to the statue for the last time.

 

"I'm really sorry!"

 

-It responded by clamping its surviving hand around her occupied wrist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Wednesday!


	13. Broken Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sci-fi meets trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: It's a Church, and there is destruction, again.

“It’s got me, it’s got me-“

 

Ro stiffened-

“Okay, don’t panic-“

Matpat felt over the hand.

“I think-“

 

His finger-pads touched certain points-

 

“Maybe-“

He squeezed.

Cracks formed-

Safiya noticed....

“A little more-“

“On it”.

 

**Click.**

 

“Huh-“

_Crunck-_

“What was that-!?”

Ro looked to the other statues-

_Crunck._

_Crunck-_

“That’s not good-“ Mat said.

 

They’d rotated.

 

“This is like something out of a horror novel...” Safiya carefully intoned-

“Oh dear-!”

Ro gulped air.

 

“Nice Angels....!”

 

Matpat kept on squeezing-

Further cracks developed upon the Grabber’s hand.

 

They moved.

 

_Crunck._

_Crunck._

_Crunck-_

 

Arms reaching, fingers outstretched, mouths wide-

 

“Dr. Who anyone-?” Safiya referenced-

“Don’t look away!” Mat warned.

“I won’t-“ Ro widened her eyes as much as she could.

 

_Crunck-_

Their sandaled feet began to leave their pedestals.

“No you don’t-“

Saf snatched up a broom from the aisle, and whipped it between the encroaching creatures-

Mat squeezed even more!!

“Mat-!!!”

Ro did her best to help, even though she felt _really_ bad kicking and pulling at the soft stone-

 

_Kr-a-a-c-k-k-_

Fissures crawled up its lower half.

“Ohh....”

She grimaced.

“Sorry....”

Soft rock dust blew up and into his glasses.

“-I’ve been spit on-!!” Mat yelped-

“Ew-“

He flexed his fists one last time, and her poor wrist’s prison crumbled away!!

-She staggered back like a shot....!!!

“Thank you-“

“To the door!!”

"I'll cover you-"

 

Saf at the rear, she swung her weapon wildly as they made the break for it-

 

Their hands frantically pulled against what felt like a solid **wall.**

"We may have a problem-" Mat said in a calm-panic mode...

"It's stuck!"

Ro knocked fruitlessly against the glass paneling showing the faintest hints of dawn sun.

"I can try-"

"Please!"

He skirted out of the way so their friend could-

 

WHACK-

 

The windows-

It grew hairlines, but didn't shatter.

None of them did-

"Well-"

Safiya chewed her lip.

"Maybe another hit!?"

Ro could just feel those stone fingertips on her shoulders-!!!

 

WHACK-!!

 

One panel popped out.

"Yes-!!" Mat cheered-

She tried to fit her hand through the small gap-

"Hurry....!"

Ro peeked behind her.

Four pairs of snarly eyes were  _right_ in her face.

_"Hurry-!!"_

 

"Trying-"

 

Her arm scraped against the jagged edges-

"Ow-"

"What happened-" Mat asked-

"Shrapnel-"

"Ouch..."

He winced.

Steadying herself, she pushed more-

A hand clamped onto Ro's shoulder, and she screamed.

"-Let go-please-!!"

She elbowed it, and the rock **_shattered._**

The sudden  _pain-_

"Almost-got it-!!"

Safiya strained her arm muscles even more.

-Now Mat felt the hands.

Digging in, claw-tipped-

"I'm not your scratching post!!!"

He kicked back-

With a magnificent  ** _CRUNCH_** , the angel's torso cracked off of its caved-in lower half.

THUD.

"-!!"

-Then he felt those same hands on his ankles-

"AHHHH stop it-!!"

He stomped down.

CRUNCH

CRUNCH

"This is NOT FNAF-"

A third one reached around Ro's face.

"No!"

She spun and punted her heel at  _their_ face-!

Their head dissolved like cream cheese.

Their body shuddered to a stop-

"Hey-"

She realized-

"The face! The face is the weak spot-"

"Good to know!"

Mat proceeded to finish  _his_ attacker off.

As for the  _other_ two angels-

Safiya glanced back just in time to nail one through the neck with the broom handle.

They seemed to gurgle in gray dust-

Mat caused a miniature explosion with only a  _punch._

"Nice one, Saf!"

"You didn't do too bad yourself".

"One more-!" Ro cried out-

They spun-

She flung her fist at its nose, and was rewarded with a rock shower.

". . ."

She gagged-

"Yuck-!!"

"Is that all of them?"

"I think so-"

Safiya's struggling fingers  _finally_ found the latch.

"Got it!!"

"Great...."

The Detective was covered in sweat.

He sent one last sweeping scan through the Church-

"Let's get out of here".

 

The door shut.

Someone sat in the pews.

Having watched them go.

 

.................The statues reassembled themselves and froze again between columns.

A new Cross in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Saturday everybody!


	14. Before Hours, Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before everyone woke up and came downstairs to the Catastrophe, MRS finished their journey, and AC found their lost friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Alcohol poisoning, death worry, trust issues.

“Here’s your Cross, Sir”.

Ro handed it to him, looking rumpled, and caked in dust, and smelling of old nave.

“..............”

The man gaped.

Mat cleared his throat.

“-Anywhere special we should put it?”

He too, was a sight, his glasses having completely grayed over-

“.........I’ll nail it above the bar.......later.......”

Safiya’s shoulders relaxed in relief.

“Thanks”.

An inch’s worth of must drifted neatly to the floorboards.

 

“...........What happened to you three, if you don’t mind my asking-“

 

Mat nodded.

 

Knew that was coming-

 

“We had a run-in with some angels”.

“-But we lived to tell about it”, Safiya reassured-

 

“.............Okay”.

 

They then headed upstairs to shower off all of the mess.

(And _sleep_ ).

 

*

 

“STOP-!!”

 

Alison called out-

 

“Wait for us, children-“

 

Calliope hurried to keep up-

As the vampire streaked through the moonlit trees and long grass to apprehend-

 

“Leave us alone!” Lydia yelled back-

“We ‘afta find love!!” Ivy supported-

 

“Yes, but BEETLEJUICE IS IN TROUBLE!!!”

 

-Her shout _carried._

“What!??”

Lydia froze-

“It’s true-“

Calliope stumbled to a halt just inches from Andrea R.

“Say what!?”

 

“There was an accident with the alcohol, and those who _weren’t_ so careful-him included-have become severely poisoned-“

“Poisoned?”

 

Lydia blanched.

 

“How....bad...?”

“They will live”, Calliope promised-

“As soon as Mat, Ro, and Safiya return with a Cross”.

“WHAT!??”

“It’s supposed to be able to heal them, although it _will_ take time-“

“BJ is a _demon!!!_ ”

 

The girl yelled-

 

“He’ll _die-“_

“It’s the best we can do....”

She looked at the grass regretfully.

 

“No...”

 

Lydia shook.

 

"No-there  _has_ to be another way for him....even if he's already dead, this is-!!!"

"Maybe he'll be fine, then", Andrea R. tried to reassure-

"................."

 

She didn't seem convinced.

 

"'Ow did tha' even 'appen...?"

Ivy eyed the two women.

"Apparently, the man at the desk who also takes care of such matters, passed out, and it was overlooked", Alison deadpanned.

"Wha-"

"It was a clashing of ill timings", Calliope sighed.

"Well...."

Andrea R. tapped her foot.

"If you've got it taken care of here-"

"Love needs us", Ivy asserted-

"......BJ needs us too-"

 

Lydia was torn.

 

"Maybe Lilith will know what to do for him", the Mystic suggested.

"-Good point".

Ivy nodded-

"....Yeah".

"Do you even have a plan to reach her?" Alison interrupted-

"I trust my gut", was Andrea's retort-

"It may take more than that", Calliope cautioned.

"Do you have a better idea?"

Lydia raised her brows.

"A map would be a good start".

The vampire beckoned the three runaways back to the Inn.

"....A map".

She rubbed her arm...

"I mean..."

Andrea R. shifted.

".......A map would be nice".

"Would it show 'er 'ouse-"

"Only one way to find out".

Alison started off.

Lydia shrugged.

Ivy looked skeptical.

Calliope saw it, and kept a careful watch.

 

*

 

No one was up-

Alison rifled through the brochures stand, and then outright snuck behind the desk.

 

Stacks of papers rapidly covered the surface.

 

"Find anything?"

Andrea R. peered over the counter-

Almost got smacked by the top of her head as she came flying up-

"Whoah-!!"

"It's not here".

"There aren't any maps?"

Ivy didn't sound too surprised.

"We will just have to wake the Innkeeper again".

 

She snuck neatly to their side, and-

 

"How long have you been there for!??"

"-You just noticed".

 

M's. eyes glowed from a table-

 

"Wha' are yeh doin' lurkin' around?"

"Waiting for you", he said plainly.

"What for?"

Andrea R. was on the alert-

"I had a feeling you wouldn't get very far".

Lydia narrows her eyes.

".....What kind of a Demon acts like you?"

"What do Demons normally act like?"

"BJ".

"....."

He had no reaction.

"..... _Why_ were you waiting for us".

"Because I  _could_ help you-"

"'Ow can we trust yeh?"

"I haven't killed you yet, have I?"

"No, but you still could".

Andrea R. warily picked out the staff in the half-dark.

"Only if you start acting like that annoying clown".

Lydia grimaced.

"Don't even mention her".

"You just did".

"-Don't be a Smart Aleck!"

"I'll tell them you said that".

Her temper flared.

"Are you kidding me!?"

"No".

He stood.

"I am not".

He aimed at the wall.

 

(Assuming  _she_ doesn't appear-)

 

"Just say 'Lilith's House'-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Saturday, happy night time!!


	15. Before Hours, Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Would-Be Rescuers get into an argument.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Little blood, spying. I think that's it.

“Wait-“

 

Andrea R. threw out a hand-!!

He heard her, and he _didn’t_ wait.

 

“Hey-“

 

Lydia’s voice was drowned out by the formation of energy and crackling light-

 

“It’s never tha’ easy”, Ivy murmured.

“We will take care of it if it is not”.

 

The Mystic bristled.

 

“Don’t act like you know better-!!”

 

He leaned forward and squinted.

Making sure a certain clown wasn’t trying to MacGyver her way back _in_ there-

 

“It _looks_ clear-“

 

Alison opened her mouth to say something-

 

“Wait-“

 

He looked again.

......A faint glow deeply enmeshed-

 

A faint glow of violet.

He snorted, and shot another portal over it.

 

“What did you see?”

 

Her voice came right from his elbow, but he didn’t jump.

 

“An obstruction. It’s gone now”, M. said flatly.

“What kind of an ‘obstruction’?”

 

Lydia’s eyebrows were raised in snark.

 

“Will it interfere-“ Calliope wondered-

“No”.

 

It wasn’t so much an answer, as a promise.

 

-The violet eyes came again, and his own narrowed.

He stuck an arm through, and everyone winced at the massive **_ZAP!!_**

****

“Hmm.....”

 

He flailed an arm around for a good minute, before sticking his head in.

 

“-Oh my God, if you get beheaded...!” Andrea R. worried in one breath-

Ivy lunged halfway across the space between them, and a second later, there were five fingers snapped around his elbow.

One _yank_ , later-

 

He glared at her in annoyance.

 

“-“

 

He pulled the limb free, leaving stinging air across her fingers.

 

“’Ey-!”

“It was _fine”._

“What did you see?”

 

Lydia aimed to be heard _above_ the bickering-

 

“A house. On a cliff”.

 

(Ivy was looking at her hand-)

“What kind of a house?”

 

Lydia wanted all the deets-

 

“An old one”.

“Okay-“

 

....Would it kill him to add in a few more words of description-

 

“What else?”

“It is a short walk”.

 

Lydia huffed.

 

“Are you _sure_ it’s the right place-“

“I specifically had her in mind, if that’s what you’re wondering-“

 

“You expect us to trust you?” Andrea R. doubted-

“Don’t believe me? Look for yourself”.

 

He moved out of the way so she could.

 

“.......”

 

The salt of the sea _did_ make its prescence known.....

 

“.....She lives up there?”

 

-He might’ve gone ahead and explained that the ‘cliff’ he was talking about bordered on a stupidly-large precipice.

 

“That does _not_ look like a quick walk”.

“The longer it seems, the shorter it is”.

 

And no, they weren’t getting an explanation for that one, either-

 

“-!??”

 

She recoiled from the purple eyes-!??

 

“What the-“

 

He frowned.

Shot another portal.

“What is that!??”

“Just a lurker. No problem at all”.

 

_(Those purple eyes took offense)._

“Why are they there!?

“Because they are hoping for an opportunity they are not going to get”.

 

Andrea R. stared at him.

 

“......Explain?”

“Are you going to go through or not?”

“Explain-“

 

“Yeah, explain”.

 

Ivy held up her hand.

Some blood speckled her palm-

 

“You can all interrogate me later”.

 

He nodded to the swirling picture of a beachside-

 

“I’ll keep trouble from getting through, and you can go find your friend”.

“-Girlfriend”, Ivy corrected.

“What are you waiting for”.

 

“We don’t even know your name”, Lydia said, “And you expect us to just walk through there-“

 

He had the distinct impression of being _surrounded by-_

 

"You're wasting time".

 

Alison and Calliope came closer-

 

"I can hold it on my end, but you'll have a better chance of going now  _before_ everyone else comes downstairs".

"They're going to want to know about this eventually-" Andrea R. pointed out.

"Yes, but the Chaos will not".

 

He nodded to the portal.

 

"Besides, when you ran off earlier, you didn't seem to worry about them".

 

Andrea's face flamed red.

 

"Don't expose-"

"Why not, tea is all you seem to drink".

 

Ivy glared.

 

"And I know for a fact that any skin contact with this-even if you are wearing gloves or whatnot-could end with a nasty shock".

 

The floating chains rattled the staff minutely-

 

"However-unless you can do something like this, you  _have_ to rely on me".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's who aren't mean!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3


	16. Before Hours, Pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A decision is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: More spying. Death threats, essentially-

“.....I have _vines”._

Ivy reached for it.

 

“Are they a part of your skin?”

-Her hand stopped.

“....I thought as much”.

 

Her green eyes could’ve killed him.

Or at least, tried-

 

“Yeh’re a Demon, aren’t yeh?”

“Arch-Demon, technically-“

“So we can’ trus’ yeh anyway”.

 

“Look-“

 

I am getting tired of going around and around-

 

“Just go. If I betrayed you, which I _wouldn’t_ by the way, that hypnotist could just teleport you all back here safe and sound”.

“Unless she’s _not_ there-“ Andrea R. disagreed-

“You’ll find _some_ way”, he snapped, “How is this any different from your running off into the woods with no plan, and no avenue there!??”

 

......

 

Lydia sighed.

 

“I can’t even believe you’re _actually_ wanting to help instead of goofing off-“

“So you’ve finally decided?”

 

Is this inane conversation _finally_ over-!??

 

“-Should we risk it?” the Mystic asked.

Chewing on her lip-

“I mean.....”

 

Ivy was still suspicious.

 

“.....This conversation isn’t over”.

“Of course not”, he huffed.

 

(Two pairs of eyes popped up in the borderlines. He Whack-A’-Spelled them both).

 

“Alright...”

 

Alison cleared her throat.

 

“I will go-“

“I will stay”, Calliope ventured.

 

“Fine with me”, Andrea R. sighed wearily.

“Le’s go”.

 

Ivy tersely stepped in.

Then Lydia-

The Mystic brought up the rear, and the vampire cautiously gave him a ‘if this is a trap, you will feel my wrath’ expression.

 

Their footsteps crunched across the sand....

 

He attempted to thin out the visibility of the make-shift dimensional-hole.

For Safety’s Sake.

 

(Hands clawed at him).

 

-He backed up-

 

"-?"

 

Calliope looked at him oddly.

 

"Fine-tuning issues".

"Issues?"

 

She looked at him odder still.

 

"-"

 

They reached again.

-He shut the portal.

 

"You-!"

"They'll manage".

 

He shrugged.

 

I could open one elsewhere....but I don't feel like dealing with it.

 

*

 

The absence of crackling was what tipped them off.

 

"He-"

 

Andrea R. kicked the cliffside.

 

"I-"

"Lilith had better be here".

 

Lydia's smile was not a smile, and  _not_ nice.

 

"If she  _isn't,_ I'm having BJ hex him to death as soon as he's not poisoned".

"He might 'afta wait in line", Ivy promised.

 

As for Alison, well....

She was grim.

Grimmer.

 

This does not bode good things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Monday. Happy Monday!


	17. Lilith's House Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hypnotist takes you on a Trip-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Nothing that I can think of.
> 
> Also, it took me really long to figure out how to do this part. 0_0

They finished the soup.

Lilith took the bowls and utensils, and presumably carried them to the sink-

 

“I could help-“ Mystic tried to say-

 

The woman stopped mid-stride.

 

“Oh….I’m sorry-“  
“No….no, you’re good. I'll do it next time-“

 

She slowly got up from the couch.

 

“I’d love to see your house-“

“Ah. Of course, just let me-“

 

Running water.

Then the Hypnotist returned-

 

*Ahem*

 

“So…this is the living room-“

“You really like Victorian architecture?”

“How did you know-“

 

The Writer smiled.

 

“I like it too”.

“Really?”

 

Lilith seemed pleasantly surprised.

 

“I’m glad….”

 

She led her onward.

 

“You’ve seen the bedroom I made for you already-“  
“Wait, hold on”.

 

Mystic started.

 

“You made a bedroom for me!?”

“When I was still with him”.

“O….kay-“

“My room is across the hall”.

“-Are there any secret passages in mine?”

“If I told you, they wouldn’t be secret”.

“Good point”.

 

(Now she knew what she was going to do after this).

 

“My kitchen is only made of green materials”.

 

And some rather impressive paneling.

-She nodded in approval…

 

“I have a pantry, but it’s rather cramped”.

“…..Yeah, I think I’ll pass on that”.

 

Lilith withdrew an ornate ring of keys from her pocket, and unlocked the porch door.

 

“-Whoah. What do you need all those for?”

“I have several basements”.

“How many is several-“

 

She got the door open, and her attention was effectively diverted.

Waves crashing, underneath the moon.

The wide slope looked like something out of a gothic….historical, scenario-

Romance or horror, either way, it - was - enchanting.

 

“Wow….”

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

 

Lilith smiled.

 

“Sometimes, I like to go out here and just…..listen”.

“I don’t blame you”.

 

I’d spend every hour out here if I could…..

 

………Rather than make her move on, she let her stay.

Looking….

 

Then, after a while, she coughed-

 

Mystic jumped.

 

-Did I just get entranced-?

 

"-Would you like to know about the basements now?"

"How many did you say you had again?"

"I have at least three-"

"You aren't sure?"

"Well, I do tend to make more rooms depending on the occasion-"

"What!? How do you do that-"

"Magic", Lilith said simply.

 

She went back inside.

Mystic reluctantly followed, taking one last, long glance---

 

"I also have a Study on the second level-and an attic above that".

"What's up there?"

"Just old things....trunks, clothes-"

"Can I look around there sometime?"

"Of course you may".

 

She closed and re-locked the door.

 

"I've been meaning to add in a garden as well, but...."

 

She sighed.

 

"A cliffside isn't exactly the ideal place for it--"

"I think you could still do it".

"Thank you".

 

They went up the stairs.

The house was quiet aside from the ticks of an occasional clock-

 

".....So yes. That is my house-"  
"-But I know there's more to it than what you've said. Right?"

 

She smiled.

 

"You know me well".

 

Mystic felt a thrill of excitement.

Her curiosity had been stoked-

 

"How long will you be letting me stay here?"

"For as long as you would like".

 

She breathed a sigh of relief.

 

"Thank you-"

"It's no trouble at all".

 

 

They came to the spot where the hallway curved toward her new room.

 

"I have some files to check up on....call me if you need anything?"

"Sure".

 

-Lilith nodded.

 

"Have fun exploring".

 

Mystic blinked.

 

"Okay---"

 

-She was gonna get cut loose?

 

Footsteps receded.

 

.   .   .   .

 

She hurried into her room and shut the door.

 

Now where are those secret passages?

 

 

She felt the walls.

Knocked a couple times--

Nothing sounded particularly hollow-

So she felt the floor.

Nothing there-

She opened the closet doors.

Still nothing.

 

She combed over the entire bed.

The canopy-

It was late.

Late _-er_ than when they'd eaten-

She hit a seam in the plaster of one of the window ledges, and the seat **clicked.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday!!


	18. Early Morning (Trespassers)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like mice, they're creeping-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Breaking and entering. Red eyes of Doom-

What the-?

 

She felt around the piece of polished wood.

 

Did this just-?

 

It moved.

 

I knew it-!!

 

It lifted . . .

 

To reveal a ladder going down.

 

 

……………….

 

Outside, four sets of feet clambered up the path to Lilith’s front doorstep.

 

“Oh my God…” Andrea R. moaned-

“Why does she live on a cliff-“

 

“Maybe she likes the view”.

Lydia shrugged.

 

“She must like the sea-“ Ivy reasoned-

 

Alison said nothing.

 

They reached the front steps, and Andrea hit the doorbell-

 

DING!!

 

She winced at the loudness-

 

“Only way to hear it over the Racket of the Ocean”, Lydia drily cracked-

 

……………………………………………

 

They waited-

 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

No footsteps getting closer.

 

Ivy knocked.

 

Nothing.

 

“Knock louder-“ Andrea R. Suggested-

 

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK-

 

Lydia grimaced.

 

“I did wha’ yeh tol’ me too-“

 

“If it doesn’t work, we’ll just let ourselves in”.

 

Alison sighed.

 

......

 

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK-

 

She still didn’t come down.

 

“Alright….”

 

The Vampire Princess went to the knob, and pulled out her hairpin.

 

…….

 

Ten minutes later, the door popped open.

 

*

 

Andrea R. gaped as they went in-

 

“Where did you learn to do that-“

“How do you think I snuck out to meet Sampson and the others?”

“….Oh. Rad”.

"-Are you offering lessons?" Lydia asked-

"Maybe later".

 

She strode on ahead.

 

Ivy whistled low, impressed.

 

I didn' know she could do tha' eivver.

 

 

Lilith was looking at papers in her Study when she heard it-

 

_Creeeakk-_

 

Who's there.

 

-She rapidly stood, eyes glowing bright-red....

 

Who dares intrude-!!

 

She swept out, the door banging closed behind her.

 

 

"-She's got style, I will admit", Lydia whispered grudgingly.

"Cool is the new mahogany", Andrea R. observed.

"Late 1800's", Alison confirmed-

 

_Creeeakk-_

 

"-Who did tha'?"

"I think it was me-"

 

The Strange and Unusual girl looked down.

 

"Oh geez".

 

The Mystic looked as if she had seen a ghost.

 

"Are there any more like that-"

"I hope not".

 

Lydia took careful care with her  _next_ step-

 

No squeak.

No creak-!

 

She breathed a sigh of relief.

 

WHOOSH

 

"What was that-"

"Eferyone, get behind me-"

 

Ivy drew her cutlass.

Alison bared her fangs-

Andrea R. looked around frantically, and stole an iron poker from the fireplace.

Lydia raised her fists-

 

A hulking shadow with  ** _blazing_** ruby orbs-

 

"Lilith?"

 

-It stopped just shy of automatically tearing them to shreds.

 

"Lydia?"

 

_(Presumably-)_

 

"Yeah, it's me".

 

She raised an eyebrow.

 

".....What are you doing?"

"What are  _you_ doing?"

 

The Hypnotist stared at the rest of them, utterly perplexed.

 

"How did you get in-"

 

"Alison picked the door-" Andrea R. nonchalantly said-

"She did what-!??"

"Where's Mystic?"

Alison kept steely-calm.

"She's in her room...."

Lilith's eyes trained from one tense face to another-

 

"-Did something happen?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't they have a fun story to tell?

**Author's Note:**

> A little back-story for my Ghost Baby.


End file.
